Norway has decided to mark the products of the settlements.
"We believe that the settlements are contrary to international law"
The products of the settlements will not be presented as products made in Israel.
The products are mainly wine, olive oil and fruits and vegetables, the government statement said.
The Foreign Ministry condemned the decision.
The condemnation stated that the decision would not contribute to relations between Israel and the Palestinians, and would harm the reciprocal relations between the two countries.
Lightning Ravid
11/06/2022
Saturday, 11 June 2022, 21:04 Updated: 21:34
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Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Store (Photo: Reuters)
The Norwegian government on Friday issued a decision marking food products produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and not presenting them as products made in Israel.
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the products in question were mainly wine, olive oil, fruit, vegetables and potatoes from the settlements.
"Norway's position is that Israel includes only the territories that were under Israeli control before June 4, 1967," the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Norway believes that the settlements are contrary to international law."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Hayat responded: "The Foreign Ministry condemns the Norwegian government's decision to label products coming from Israeli localities in Judea and Samaria. To the Palestinians. "
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To the full article
Israeli officials say Israel is formulating a series of responses to the Norwegian decision regarding Norwegian involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian issue that has been unique since the Oslo Accords.
Norway also chairs the Forum of Contributing Countries to the Palestinian Authority, which meets several times a year.
Israeli officials have said that one of the Israeli response steps may be to end cooperation with the forum.
Chairman of the Export Institute Ayelet Nachmias and Rabin said: "I was very sorry to learn about the Norwegian government's decision to label products from Judea and Samaria as non-manufactured in Israel.
In factories that produce in Judea and Samaria and export from Israel, many Palestinians work alongside Israelis and maintain the delicate fabric of relations and together build a joint economic activity that contributes to both sides.
The problem is not only the decision of the Norwegian government, but the fear of the decision spilling over to other countries as well.
At the Export Institute, together with the Ministry of Economy, we will work to help exporters who find themselves facing the consequences of the decision. "
Norway has repeatedly stated in the past that the settlements are in breach of international law.
About three years ago, a decision was made in the Oslo City Council to confiscate settlement products.
About a year ago, the largest pension fund in Norway, KLP, decided to withdraw its investments from a number of companies, including Bezeq, Cellcom and various Israeli banks, following their ties to business activity in the territories.
"This is not a boycott"
A senior Norwegian diplomat said that Norway had already updated Israel at the beginning of March on a forthcoming decision regarding the labeling of settlement products.
According to him, Norway is bound by the ruling of the European Court of Justice which ruled that products from the settlements should be marked and that despite this Norway has delayed the decision for several years.
The Norwegian diplomat said that Norway decided to label products from the settlements long after countries like France or Germany started doing so.
He emphasized that it was Israel that chose to react sharply.
"We told Israel that this is not a boycott of products from the settlements and that in Norway it is possible to continue selling products from the settlements but we can not present these products as Israeli products when our trade agreements do not recognize the settlements as part of Israel," the Norwegian diplomat noted.
"We have much stricter guidelines for products from the Western Sahara."
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